See Also: en prince(dictionary)
Prince(encyclopedia)
PRINCE(law)
prince(dictionary)
Prince, Hal(encyclopedia)
Prince, The(dictionary)
prince(dictionary)
Prince(medicine)
Prince Edward(dictionary)
prince consort(dictionary)

prince (iou)



prince noun & verb. ME.
[Old & mod. French from Latin princeps, princip- chief man, leading citizen, PRINCEPS, use as noun of adjective 'first, chief, sovereign', from PRIMUS adjective + cip- combining form of capere take.]
A. noun. Also (esp. in titles) Prince.
I. gen.
A monarch; esp. a king. Formerly also, a person whose authority is paramount, a ruler, a chief; a leader, a commander. arch. ME.
Goldsmith These animals are often sent as presents to the princes of the East.
A person who or thing which is pre-eminent in a specified class or sphere. Usu. foll. by of. ME.
Delia Smith A prince of fish, in my opinion, a true delicacy when freshly caught.
b. A powerful or influential person; esp. a magnate in a specified industry etc. Orig. & chiefly US. M19.
Times The..retailing prince who founded the stores.
c. An admirable or generous man. colloq. Chiefly N. Amer. E20.
J. D. Salinger He's crazy about you. He thinks you're a goddam prince.
II. spec.
The ruler of a State actually, nominally, or originally, subject to a king or emperor. ME.
J. Masson He was the prince of a small kingdom that was now part of Pakistan.
A male member of a royal family other than a reigning king; esp. a son or grandson of a monarch (also prince of the blood). ME.
Daily Chronicle Prince George of Denmark was elected to the throne of Greece.
In France, Germany, and other (esp. Continental European) countries, a nobleman (usu. ranking next below a duke). Also, as a courtesy title, a duke, a marquess, an earl. E18.
Phrases & comb.: Prince Albert (a) Hist. a man's double-breasted frock-coat orig. made fashionable by Prince Albert Edward, later Edward VII; (b) Austral. slang in pl., rags worn inside boots by tramps, sailors, etc.; prince-bishop (a) a man holding the ranks of both bishop and prince (sense 3); (b) a man having the temporal possessions and authority of a bishopric, with princely rank. Prince Charming an idealized young hero or lover, esp. in fairy tales. Prince Consort the husband of a reigning female monarch who is himself a prince. prince-elector Hist. = ELECTOR 2. Prince of Darkness: see DARKNESS 2. Prince of Peace Jesus Christ. prince of the blood: see sense 5 above. Prince of the Church, Prince of the Holy Roman Church Roman Catholic Church (the title of) a Cardinal. Prince of this world = Prince of Darkness s.v. DARKNESS 2. Prince of Wales (the title of) the ruler of the Principality of Wales; spec. (a) Hist. (the title adopted by) any of several medieval Welsh rulers; (b) (the title, conferred by the monarch, of) the heir apparent to the British throne. Prince of Wales' feathers (a) the plume of three ostrich feathers, first adopted as a crest by the eldest son of Edward III (Edward Plantagenet, the Black Prince, 1330-76); (b) NZ the crape-fern, Leptopteris superba. Prince of Wales check (a fabric in) a large check pattern. Prince Regent a prince who acts as regent of a country during the minority, incapacity, or absence of the monarch; spec. (Hist.) George Prince of Wales (later George IV), Regent of Great Britain and Ireland (1811-20). Prince Royal the eldest son of a reigning monarch. Prince Rupert's drop: see DROP noun 5. prince's feather either of two ornamental amaranths, Amaranthus hybridus var. erythrostachys and A. cruentus, bearing feathery spikes of small red or purple flowers. Prince's metal [Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619-82), nephew of Charles I, Royalist general, and scientist] (obsolete exc. Hist.) an alloy, resembling brass, of about three parts copper and one zinc, used esp. for cheap jewellery. prince's pine the pipsissewa, Chimaphila umbellata. prince-wood (the dark-coloured, light-veined wood of) a W. Indian tree, Cordia gerascanthus, of the borage family; also called Spanish elm. Red Prince: see RED adjective. restraint of princes: see RESTRAINT 3b.
b. verb trans. with it. Behave or conduct oneself as a prince. Now rare or obsolete. L16.
princedom noun (a) a State or country ruled by a prince; (b) the position or rank of a prince; rare (with possess. adjective, as
your princedom etc.) a title of respect given to a prince; (c) = PRINCIPALITY 5: M16.
princehood noun (now rare) the condition of being a prince LME.
princekin noun (joc. & derog.) = princeling (a) M19.
princelet noun = princeling (b) L17.
princelike adjective & adverb (a) adjective like or resembling a prince; characteristic of or befitting a prince; princely; (b) adverb (now rare or obsolete) in a princely manner: M16.
princeling noun (a) a young or small prince; (b) a petty prince, the ruler of a small principality: E17.
princeship noun (a) the rank or position of a prince; rare the personality of a prince; with possess. adjective, as
your princeship etc.) a title of respect given to a prince); (b) the period of a prince's rule: L16.